Glider



May 17, 1932. P. E. G. ERICSON GLIDER Filed Dec. 8, 1930, 5 Sheets-Sheet l y 1932- P. E. G. ERICSON 1,858,989

GLIDER Filed Dec. 8, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 17, 1932. P. E. G. E zRlcsoN GLIDER Filed Dec. 8, 1950 s Sheets-Sheet s V Patented May 17, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PHILIP E. G. ERIOSON, OF ST. CHARLES, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE W. H. HOWELL COMPANY, OF GENEVA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS GLIDER Application filed December 8, 1930. Serial No. 500,850.

This invention relates to gliders, and one of its objects is to produce an article of this character which may be quickly and easily assembled by unskilled persons from a knocked down condition, and which may be disassembled and reduced into very compact form for shipment and storage. Articles of this character are relatively long as compared with their other dimensions, and it has been found that a saving in freight rates is obtainable when packages containing such articles are of less length than the article itself. One of the objects is to so construct the glider that it may be partially disassembled and packed into a carton or shipping case of less length, width and height than the article itself.

Gliders are usually composed of a stand and a seat suspended therefrom, and ordinarily the seat has had so much side sway that the ends thereof rub against the end members of the stand, thereby marring these parts, and one of the objects of the present invention is to minimize the lateral or side sway of the seat thereby eliminating this defect. Another object is to provide anti-friction means between the stand, the suspension elements and the seat, and to so form said suspension elements that the seat portion may swing freely without much, if any, side sway.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of this specification, and with all of said objects and advantages in View, this invention consists in the several novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

The invention is clearlyillustrated in the drawings accompanying this specification in which- Figure l is a perspective View of a glider embodying a simple form of the present invention, showing the same set up in position for use;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one end of the glider;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical longitudinal section illustrating a certain anti-friction connection used between the stand and suspension element for the seat, the line of section being indicated at 3 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the glider;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of one end portion of the stand showing the same in its erected condition;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the same end of the stand showing the parts in a position assumed when setting up or collapsing the stand;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the same end of the stand showing the same collapsed;

Fig. 8 is a plan of the same end of the stand showing the same in its completely collapsed condition;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of an end of the seat showing the same in its collapsed condition in solid lines, and showing in dotted lines certain parts in their extended position; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a package with the collapsed glider contained therein,

portions of the walls of the package being broken away to reveal the glider.

Referring to said drawings, the reference character 11 designates the stand, and 12 the seat of a glider embodying one form of the present invention. The seat is suspended from the stand by suspension elements 13 and is free to swing forward and backward (see dotted lines in Fig. 4) without any substantial side sway, as will be hereinafter described.

The stand 11 comprises end frames 14 connected together by a horizontal cross frame 15 and capable of being moved under said cross frame 15 when the glider is collapsed forshipment and storage. Each end frame 14 is preferably composed of upright angle iron bars 16 secured at their lower ends to an angle iron bar 17 preferably bent up in the form seen in Fig. 4 to provide a foot piece having widely separated feet.

Secured to the upper ends of the upright bars 16 of each end frame is a top bar 18, here shown in the form of an angle iron bar, riveted or otherwise secured to the upright bars 16. For obtaining greater rigidity for the parts, it is preferred to employ braces 19 be tween the arm rest and the upright bars.

The several members of each end frame 14 are riveted or otherwise permanently secured together, except at the place indicated by the reference character 20, where a bolt and nut is provided for connecting the foot piece 17 with one of the upright bars 16. The purpose of this construction is to permit the foot piece 17 to swing upon the other upright bar 16, as at 21, whereby the said foot piece may be extended into alignment with said upright bar when the stand is knocked down into its collapsed condition, as is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 8.

The cross frame 15 is preferably composed of a pair of horizontal longitudinal extending angle iron bars 22 connected at their ends by angle iron bars 23 riveted or otherwise permanently secured to the longitudinal bars 22 so as to provide a rigid frame. The end frames 14 are connected to the horizontal cross frame 15 by bars 24 and 25 loosely riveted or otherwise connected to the end frames 14 and to the cross frame 15 to permit of relative movement between said parts for the purpose of setting up the stand and collapsing it. The bars 24 are capable of extending along inner sides of the angle iron bars 22, and in extended condition said bars 24 engage with the undersides of the upper flanges of the angle iron bars 23, as seen in Figs. 2 and 5, thereby to all intents and purposes providing an extension for the cross frame 15, whereby when the end frames 14 are set up, the distance between them exceeds the length of the cross frame 15 and the length of the seat portion 12.

The bars 24 and 22 are fastened together adjacent the ends of the bars 22 by bolts or nuts 26 to permit the end frames to be readily set up and rigidly fastened to the cross frame 15. The bars 25 extend from points near the bottoms of the end frames to the bars 22 and provide braces between said end frames and the cross frame 15.

The seat 12 of the glider comprises a rectangular seat frame 27 preferably composed of angle iron side rails 28 and angle iron cross bars 29 riveted or otherwise permanently secured together. A spring construction 30, of conventional form, is secured to the cross bars 29 of the seat frame 27, as is customary. Hingedly connected to the rear edge of the seat frame 27 is a back frame 31 preferably composed of an angle iron mar ginal frame bar 32 and longitudinal and crosswise extending straps 33 and 34 riveted or otherwise secured to the marginal angle iron bar 32.

The hinge connections 35 between the back frame 31 and the seat' frame comprises flat metal strips riveted to'the angle iron frame bar 32 and having their lower ends bent at right angles thereto and pivotally connected to the cross bars 29 of the seat frame 27 by rivets-or the like 36. The rivet or hinge pins eeaeee 36 are set in far enough on the cross bars 29 for the hinge pieces to obtain suflicient purchase upon the lower flanges of the cross bars 29 to hold the back frame in its tilted position;

Pivotally connected to the rails 28 of the seat, as by rivets or the like, are arms or end extensions 37, here shown in the form of angle iron bars, the flanges of which are cut back as at 38 to provide stops or shoulders that abut against the lower edges of the rails when the arms 37 are extended into position for carrying the seat, as shown in Fig. 1. The two arms 37 at each end of the seat are connected by a cross bar 39, and braces 40 are provided between the arms and cross bars to provide a .rigid connection therebetween. The arms, cross bar and braces are fastened together .by rivets or the like, as is well understood. The suspension elements 13, heretofore mentioned, connect the outer ends of the arms 37 with the outer ends of the arm rests 18, thus suspending the seat 12 from the stand.

In order to minimize side sway of the seat and at the same time minimize friction between the suspension elements and the members to which they are connected, anti-friction bearings 41 are provided between the top bars 18 and the suspension elements and between the suspension elements and the arms 37 of the seat. The suspension elements 13 are in the form of twisted rods or bars which not only impart an attractive appearance to the suspension elements, but considerably increase their stiffness. The anti-friction bearings are here shown in the form of ball bearing assemblies, of which the housings 42 are riveted or otherwise secured to the suspension bars 13. The hubs or inner ball races 43 of the bearings are bolted to the top bars 18 and the arms 37 by bolts and nuts 44, whereby the suspension elements may be readily disconnected from the top bars 18 and arms 37, should occasion require it.

Around the hub of each ball bearing assembly is a ball ring 47 which is tightly held between the two sides of the housing 42. The balls run in grooves formed in the hub and ring and prevent side play between the ring and hub. The housing is preferably made of one piece of sheet metal struck up to form two sockets 49 for the reception of the ring, the balls and the hub, and is doubled upon itself along a line transversely of the hub axis to bring the two sockets opposite each other wherein the ring is firmly held in place against any movement thereof. Beyond the sockets the two sides of the housing extend face to face and are riveted or otherwise secured to the extension bars. This construction of the ball bearing assemblies affords one in which there is no appreciable side play of the parts, and with the suspension bars or rods riveted or otherwise rigidly secured to the housings, a suspension element is obtained wherein the possibility of side play is reduced to a minimum. When the suspension elements are composed of fiat bars, they are twisted so as to leave their fiat end portions disposed in one and the same plane, and the outer extremities of the arms or end extensions 37 are turned laterally as at 37 (see Fig. 2) so as to lie in vertical planes parallel with the upright webs of the top bars 18. With this arrangement of the parts, the fiat sides of the ball bearing housings 42 when fastened to the top bars 18 and arms or end extensions 37 are held in parallel relation with the axes of the ball bearings extending parallel with the length of the seat permitting free movement of the seat forwards and backwards but not otherwise.

Some clearance is left between the end frames 14 and the seat 12, but the side sway permitted by the suspension construction shown is very slight, an exaggerated amount thereof being illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. From this it will be seen that there is very little likelihood of the seat rubbing against the end frames 14 and marring the finish of those parts. The anti-friction connections between the suspension elements and the end frames and seat allow the seat to swing freely, and, at the same time, co-operate with. the stiffened bars 13 to minimize side sway. Cushions 45 (see Fig. 10) are provided, as is customary for the seat portion.

The glider may be reduced to very compact form for shipment and storage, and when knocked down may be contained in a carton of less length and width than the glider occupies when set up for use. This is because the end frames 14 may be moved underneath the cross frame 15 with the foot pieces 17 swung into alignment with the bars 16 of the end frames, as is clearly seen in Fig. 8. In taking the glider apart for storage or shipment, the suspension elements 13 are detached from the top bars 18 by unbolting the ball bearing assemblies from the top bars, then swinging the arms 37 underneath the seat 27, as seen in Fig. 9, and then moving the suspension elements 13 crosswise under the seat. The back frame 31 may then be swung down upon the seat 27, thus reducing the seat into its smallest compass. With the stand collapsed, as above setforth, the back frame may be folded down on the seat and placed together with the stand in a carton 46 of sufficient dimensions to contain the entire folded glider as well as the cushions 45, thereby providing a package of such size as may be shipped at a reduced freight rate.

In setting up the glider, the end frames 14 are swung up from their collapsed condition into upright position, as seen in Fig. 5, and the bars 24 are then bolted to the bars 22 of the cross frame 15. The arms 37 are then moved out from underneath the seat 27 to their extended position, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the suspension elements 13 moved up into-upright position and the ball bearing assemblies bolted to the top bars. With the back frame swung into upright position, the glider is set up into condition ready for the reception of the seat cushions.

It is to be observed that the length of the top bars is approximately the same as the width of the seat, and that these parts define the width of the package. The foot pieces, however, are considerably longer than the top bars, but these pieces being foldable into parallelism with the bars 16 makes it possible to enclose the collapsed glider into a package of a width suflicient to accommodate the seat and top bars. F urthermore, the seat and horizontal cross frame are of substantially the same length, and because of the fact that the end frames may be folded underneath the cross frame, the length of the package is determined by the length of the seat.

I claim:

1. A glider comprising a stand having a horizontal cross frame and a seat frame of substantially equal length, said seat frame having movably mounted end extensions, movable end extension members carried by said cross frame and vertically supporting end frame members spaced from said cross frame and seat frame, and suspension members pivotally connecting the end extensions of the seat frame to said end frame members, whereby in set up position the seat frame is suspended by its end extensions and spaced from the end frames and in knocked down position the end extensions and end frames are movable to form a structure of a length substantially that of the seat frame.

2. A glider comprising a stand having a horizontal cross frame and a seat frame of substantially equal length, said seat frame having movably mounted end extensions, movable end extension members carried by said cross frame and vertically supporting end frame members spaced from said cross frame and seat frame, suspension members pivotally connecting the end extensions of the seat frame to said end frame members, said end frame members each including a top bar of a length substantially equal to the width of the seat frame, a foot piece of greater length than the top bar, and a vertical bar for supporting the top bar and pivotally connected to the foot piece, whereby the foot piece may be swung into alignment with the vertical bar so that the whole supporting structure when folded is'of a width substantially that of the seat frame.

3. A glider comprising a stand having a horizontal cross frame and a seat frame of substantially equal length, said seat frame having movably mounted end extensions, movable end extension members carried by said cross frame and vertically supporting end frame members spaced from said cross frame and seat frame, suspension members pivotally connecting the end extensions of the seat frame to said end frame members, said end frame members each including a top bar, a foot piece of greater length than the top bar, and a vertical stand for supporting the top bar and pivotally connected to the foot piece, the pivotal connections between the foot piece and vertical stand adjacent one end of the horizontal cross frame being disposed diagonally With respect to a similar pivotal connection adjacent the opposite end of the cross frame, whereby in the folded position of the supporting structure each foot piece Will be adjacent a side of its stand and extend adjacent a side of the other stand.

PHILIP E. G. ERICSON. 

